What is Tethered Photography?

What is Tethered Photography?

Tethered photography is a useful shooting strategy which has been utilized by many advertising, fashion and product photographers for years.  In the past, used primarily for studio work and high end commercial photo shoots, the process was cumbersome and expensive.

However, in recent years tethering technology has been become more reliable, portable, less expensive and easier to use,  Due to these factors, it’s only natural the uses have spread to many other areas of photography and is now enjoyed by countless professional photographers and enthusiasts.

So what is tethered photography?  Tethered photography is the process of connecting your camera to your computer with a Firewire or USB cable.  The computer can be a desktop or laptop.  After you create your image, it bypasses the camera and is saved directly to a folder setup on your computer.

The tethering software then displays the image and you can clearly see the results on a large computer screen.

How great is that!

The 3” un-calibrated LCD on the back of your camera does not clearly provide the detailed information you need to know, with certainty, you have the shot.  A laptop or computer display will provide you with this information.

It’s always better to get it right in camera as opposed to have to spend time fixing it in Photoshop, right?  Tethering is just the tool to help you accomplish this.

You can now easily see distracting elements, depth of field & focus issues, sensor dust as well as unwanted reflections or shadows.

Now it’s simple, make your changes, create another image and evaluate the results.

Future articles will discuss other benefits and tools needed for tethered photography.